LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- No matter what facts or theories people hear, their political opinions often decide how they feel about climate change, a new study suggests.
The study analyzed Gallup polls taken after an unseasonably warm winter in 2012. The researchers found both Democrats and Republicans had relatively accurate concepts of the unusual weather patterns, but the change in weather did not alter their opinion of global trends. They found, overall, Republicans subscribe to the concept of climate change less than Democrats.
It appears weather changes do not affect people's opinions on climate. "We'd have to see stronger extremes hitting you over and over again to see people's views change," said Aaron McCright, a sociologist at Michigan State University who worked on the study.
Though the difference between political parties determining unusual weather was slim, there was a small difference. "What's so interesting is that we do find that Republicans were slightly less likely to say the winter was warmer," said Riley Dunlap, a sociologist at Oklahoma State University at Stillwater and a member of the research team.
A Yale study from November, 2013 found 83 percent of Americans believe something needs to be done about climate change.
The new study is published in Nature Climate Change.
